Monday, August 7, 2017

Reunited

Two weeks ago I was able to escape to the beach. To my second home. To my happy place. And, y'all, it did not disappoint.

Charleston, SC was my home for most of my adult life and being able to go "home" every so often is a much needed respite from everyday stress, as well as the replenishment for my soul that no other vacation destination can offer. Don't get me wrong, I'd bet money that my soul could find restoration in Bora Bora (hint, hint, Tim), but MY people aren't in Bora Bora. They are in Charleston and they are amazing.

That weekend was a short, four day vacation for me, but roughly four hours after arriving I could sense this was going to be much more than your average girls' weekend. We realized that five of us hadn't been together, at the same time, in over 12 years. 12 years! Life has taken us across the country from each other and circumstances have always kept one or two of us away at various times. Not this time. We were truly reunited and it felt so good.

We ate amazing, local food, drank delicious cocktails, ate some more, shopped, swam in the pool, waded in the ocean, talked into the wee hours of the morning (which leant us some amazing dark eye circles), ate some more, laughed until we cried and laughed until we spit out water all over each other.

What made this trip so much more than your run of the mill girls' weekend was the sharing. Sharing of silly toddler stories and of motherhood. Sharing of stories of funny things, hard things, sad things, joyful things, work things, love things and life things. One by one, we re-entered each other's lives. And we didn't just listen and move on. We dug in, asked how we can support one another and reminded each other of the amazing women, wives, moms and friends we are. You know, on the off chance one of us forgot our own worth amongst the whirlwind of life. Because let's face it, life is hard and demanding and stressful and someone always needs something from us. It's all too easy to let yourself get buried under the to-do list. And sometimes, sometimes you just need someone to look you in the eyes and say "do you know how awesome you are?"

These girls, they're so much more than a friend to me. They're beautiful, inside and out, they're fighters, they're teachers, they're wildly successful, they're hilarious, they're believers, they're mom warriors, they're willing to go deeper with you even when life is hard. They're willing to cry with you because it makes the laughter and the joyful moments a thousand times more appreciated and coveted. They're my friends of 15+ years and I am so blessed to call them mine.

To say that I look forward to the next time we're all together again would be an understatement of great proportions. Next time, however, I will bring extra concealer to hide the dark circles under my eyes after staying up and chatting until 4am. My soul came back refreshed, but my eyes? Umm, not so much.

About Me

I was blessed enough to live near the beach in Charleston, SC for 15 years after surviving 18 years of life in the frozen tundra that is Illinois Winters. However, recently the Midwest has called this Southern by choice girl back to be the wife of an amazing man in IL. I love my family, love my friends as though they were family, and love my God with all of my heart.